The Disconnected Customer Journey
As I prepare for NADA 2024 and the many anticipated discussions regarding first-party data management and marketing optimization, I thought I would remind dealers how fragmented our industry is in regards to helping them optimize communications and marketing.
Dealers spend millions on advertising, but less than 5% of dealers have Google Analytics configured (with their vendors) to see the entire customer journey. Even fewer have consistent identity resolution tags across all consumer touchpoints.
Do the large dealer groups have this problem solved? Nope. Even the most progressive dealers have asked for help to "herd the cats" and get everyone working together to support the goals of the dealer group. It's odd that in 2024 most dealers can't see all the actions consumers take on their websites.
Few have joined me to focused on eliminating online blind spots. It is the key to resolving many persistent problems in online marketing for auto dealerships.
Everyone Was Looking Out For Themselves
If you take a look at the graphic at the top of this page, you can see just how many vendors have software tools which engage consumers online and collect PII. Yet, so few of these vendors have taken the initiative to send ASC events for every click, swipe, or hover in their software into Google Analytics.
Even fewer have third-party identity resolution tagging support . Dealers with CDPs need integrated identity resolution tagging to activate workflows in real time when a form is filled out in a third party tool.
Dealers should not have to wait for the DMS or CRM nightly load to know when a consumer provides their PII online.
As more dealers seek to activate their first-party data and reduce marketing waste, they will have to use the power of their wallets to get software vendors to support data transparency and identity integration.
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"No" Is The Most Common Answer Followed By "We Will Work on That"
Large dealer groups have SOME power to get vendors to support GA4 or identity resolution tagging, but I am still surprised how reluctant software companies are to invest in the education they need to send encrypted PII to third-party data warehouses and CDPs in real time.
The default answer from many vendors is NO, we don't do that.
In 2024, dealer groups will start replying to the "NO" messages with cancellation letters because the stakes are high. When all vendors participate in tracking the full customer journey on a dealer's website, including support from identity resolution, dealers can save thousands, even hundreds of thousands of dollars, and dealer groups could potentially save millions of dollars a year.
Ask For More Cooperation and Transparency
If there was one critical thing a dealer could do when they get to NADA this year, it would be to ask their vendor partners two questions:
If they have no idea what you are talking about, send them to me.
When dealers have all engagement events and conversions in GA4, they can reduce their Google Ads spend by at least 20% and get higher quality conversions.
If you don't believe my claim that your Google Ads is likely not set up properly, test me. I'll give you $100 bucks if you have GA4 configured properly to track consumer engagement and conversions on your website.
So, make the most of your NADA experience by getting the cooperation you need to succeed in 2024. It's time we address some of the gaping holes in online analytics with the biggest offenders being service schedulers and financial tools.
Questions? Message me. Going to NADA, visit me at the PCG booth but I recommend setting up a time to meet in advance.
Marketing Director
1 年Thanks Brian! I'm experiencing vendor partners who participated in the ASC standards council, but yet still are not correctly sending events. Happy to discuss in more detail offline, if you're interested in examples.
Growth Coach Specializing in Marketing Strategy, Problem Solving, and Leadership Skills
1 年We need the OEM’s to get educated so the mandated vendors like E-Shop, and all the constant unvetted vendor pushes by Stellantis and Shift stop and become smarter recommendations. I was told by one representative they decide who to recommend in terms of vendors by the sales pitch. No data is viewed. Dealers need help.
Co-Founder & CEO at Team Velocity
1 年Spot on. We bet the farm that connecting the customer journey would best happen through one (1) platform. Designed from the ground up to integrate across every ad medium and sync with the dealerships website. Not easy. Second, we would love for you and your team to take at a look at how we are doing it. We have dedicated teams and people, but know we can always be better. Joe High Ryan Shreve
Fantastic article!
Chief Revenue Officer at Dealer eProcess | MBA Candidate - Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management
1 年Spot on, Brian. And if any dealer reading this is a Dealer eProcess customer, take Brian up on his offer and you’ll walk away with a cool $100!